Flying-machine.



' .`H. C.1GAMMETER.

' FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 9,` 1907. I 968,931 PatentedAug.30,'11910.

sHEETsA-SIHE'ET .2.

l/VITNESSES.- man, m fm H. C. GAMMETER.

FLYING MACHINE.

n PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 0T. 9999 o7 y 968,981. Patented Augo, 1910.

@SHEETS-SHEET s,

WiWi/556575.' y

H. C. GAMMETER.

PLSL'INGl MACHINE, APPLIGATION FILED 0011.9, 1907.

Patented Aug. 3 0, 1910.

B SHEETS- SHEET 4.

H.- c. GAMMETER.

FLYING MAGINL'. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 9, "1907.

,' Ptented Aug. 30; i910.v

Wiz/Maga- H. o.' GAMMBTER.

FLYING MAQHINE.` APPLICATION FILED 00T. 9, 1907.`

968,931., y l Patented-AugQlQlO.

f @SHEETS-SHEET e. 7I fi UMTED STATES PAT-ENT oFFrcE.

'HARRY c. GAMMETEE, oF eoLLINwooD, omo.

FLYING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern: l p Be it known that I, HARRY C. GAMMETER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Collinwood, in the county`of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain` new and usefulImprovement `in Flying-Machines, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, reference being wings on the principle ofa bird and sov ar-V ranged as to have little weight and great,

powerv in proportion to the area of wing surface.'

.The invention includes thev broad idea v of valved wings mechanicallydriven up and down, as well as various features contributing to theefliciency of the machine; its control, its rigidity and lightness, thedriving mechanism, the steadying' device, etc.

The invention may accordingly' be most conveniently summarized ascomprising the machine and parts thereof hereinafter eX- plained and setout in the essential characteristics in the claims.

The drawings fully disclose my invention 'inI an approved form, thesedrawings having been made from an actual machine'.

Figure 1 1s a perspective view ofthe ma'- chine complete; Fiv. 2f is aplan thereof;

Fig. 3 is a front eevation with one wing omitted; Fig. 4 is asideelevation with one ,wing omitted; Fig. 5 is' a detail showing. thejunction of several frame barsg' Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of theengine and its support;

' Fig. 7 is a face view of the main drive gear with the driving pinion,being in aplane parallel with Fig. 6 and forward thereof; Fig. 8 is aside elevation on an enlarged scale of.. the controlling clutch,l,driving pinion and bearing therefor; Fig. 9 is a de- -tail showing, insection, the main gearand its bearing; Fig. 10 is a perspective of thewing lookingv from` its underside Fig. 11 1s a cross section of the wingwith the valves open, being', in the position they have asthe wingiselevated, and Fig.'12 is a cross section of the same portion ofthe'wlng when being moved downward, these two crosssections being takenon the line-11 -12 ofFig. 12; Fig. 13 is a cross section of the wing onthe line 13-13 of` Fig. 10, the 'flection of `the i- SpeccationotLettersiatent. Patented Aug, 30, 1910, Application led October 9, 1907.`Seria1'No.i396,546. i

wing being indicated by the dottedilines and the air currents by arrows.

The frame of the machlne' 1s made of bars preferably composed of verylightsteel'tubing brazed .or otherwise secured together. l

Asshown, these tubes vform a skeleton rdrum to carry the drivingmechanism,'upwardly e0 and outwardly 4projecting skeleton arms to carrythe Iwing pivots, and downwardly and 4outwardly, projecting skeletonarms carrying thebase of the' machine. The drum referred to in theembodiment showncomprises two` circular rings' of tubing 20 and 21standing verticallyv and braced by horizontal bars of which four may beused, for eX-4 ample, two appearing iii-Fig. 4 at 22 and 23. Secured tothe outer periphery of the respective rings are the bars 25 and 26,these bars bending outwardly both above andbe low their contact .withthe rings. Secured 'to Y the highest point of Atheir respective ringsarebars 27 and 28, bent upward at each side 75 of theirpoint ofconnection with the ring and having 'their ends meeting the upwardg endsof the -bars '25' and 26 respectively.

Suitable diagonal bars 29 lead from the i junctions of the bars 25and-27 andthe bars so 26 and 28 downwardly to a pointI of connec tionwiththe cross bars 22. This arrangement provides four upwardly andoutwardly projectingskeleton arms.r The two arms 4on either side carry afore-and-aft'bar 30, these 85 two bars 30 forming a pivotal support` forvthe wings. The bars 30 are transversely braced by cross bars 32, an'intermediate longitudinal bar 33, a front bar 34 and 'diagonal bars 35.These last mentioned bars,v 90 with the longitudinal bars-'30, forn'iwhatv may be called the skeleton of the roof of the machine.

The bars 25 and 26 lead downward to longitudinal bars 38' t'o whicharesecured, by95l cross bars 40, the parallel bars 39. From the y bars 39-diagonal bars 41 lead upwardly to the rings 20 and 21. Suitable crossbars 42 l are also provided between the two bars 39. This constructionmakes an effectivel and 10(1 rigid-base or support on which the machinemay rest 4when not flying.

It will beseen that the above frame, while being offa'ekeleton nature,is designed to be very-strong Aand Well braced. It is particu'- 105larlylight, the .various bars referred to be.

ing of metal tubing, as, for example, hard l drawn seamless tubing.`

^ frame shown in Fig. 4. The bars 25 and 27 are flattened on theiradjacent sides and are cut to each lap substantially half way around thelongitudinal bar 30. The bar 29 is flattened and passes between the twobars 25 and 27 and a strap 50, is secured to the outer side of bars 25and 27 and passes around the bar 30. This construction is then brazefdtogether.

The wings, are pivotally connected to the' two bars 30and extend outwardtherefrom in opposite directions. The frame of each wing consists of anumber of bars 60 radiating from a common pointl at 6l at the frontinner corner of the wing. At this point there extends downwardly the bar62 and from the lower end of this bar brace bars 68 extend upward topoints beneath the various ribs 60, the upper ends of the brace bars 63being securedl to an arc-shaped bar A64 tov which the ribs are secured.'These brace bars form substantially a quarter-of a skeleton cone. 65designates a short horizontal bar runningl between the upper end of thebar 62 and the farthermost brace bar 63 The two ends of the bar 65 carryhinge eyesv 66 which surround bearing sleeves 67 on the bars 30 and formthe mainhinges for the wings. l The wing frames carry a textile coveringto be hereinafter more fully explained. vIts innerfportion is shown at Ain Fig. 2, being tied to the longitudinal lbars 30 at the rear of thehinges.

The driving mechanism is carried'by the skeleton drum referredv to andis connected Y lene explosive engine of a usual type.` In.

the form shown there are two cylinders b at an angle to each other', andtheir pistons (not shown) drive a crank in a crank chamber. The engineis supported by Straps on suitable depending frame bars 70 and 7l andbraced by a suitable cross bar 72 extending across the ring 2l. Thecrank shaft ofthis engine is keyedto the member C of a clutch (Figs. 4and 8). The other or movable member of this clutch C is splined on ashaft D alining withthe crank shaft. When the clutch membersare inengagement, as shown in Figs. 4 and 8, the engine drives the shaft D. Tothrow the clutch out of engagement I provide'a bell crank E pivotallysupported by one.. of the bars 23. The

longer arm of this bell crank forms an operating hand lever and theshort arm engages in a collar c on the clutch member C.

The driven shaft D has its outer bearing in the lower edge of a metalring F secured to frame bars 22'and 23 and also to the bars 7 5 whichextend from the bars 30 to the bars 23. This securement is accomplishedby suitable clips or shackles, shown in Fig'. 7 at 76 and 77respectively. Beneath the seat- 'very simple and effective ball bearingfor the gear Gr. The ring F is made in two halves separable at the clips76 to allow the assemblage of these parts. The. gear G is provided witha double set of gear teeth g on opposite sides of the groove g. Mountedon the shaft D are two pinions J J which mesh with the' teeth of thegear. The gear is connected with the wings by two pitmen K connected attheir outer ends to the lower ends of the wing bars 62 and at theirinner ends by journal pins with the gear G.

opposite points and are also located on opposite faces of the gear. Thisconstruction makes ran extremely simple anda well-balanced drive.

The engine is sparked by a current from a suitable battery indicated byL; it receives its gasolene and llubricating oil from compartments in atank M through tubes m, and it has suitable levers N to regulate themixture and the sparking. provided with exhaust pipes l) which are shownas discharging rearwardlyv on 4each sideA of the ringy 2l.

' It will be seen that the above described mechanism is able to give avery powerful drive. At the same time the extremely rapid rotations ofthe shaft give oscillations to the wings with ample rapidity. The enginein the machine shown gives a power 'in proportion to wing surface quitein excess of the strongest bird, according to the most reliable dataavailable.

'These two journal pins are at diametrically The engine v The wings arespecially designed, not only ,120

`to cause the machine to lift as the wings oscillate up and down but tocause it toA move forward. To effect this result, thev of individuallongitudinal strips a which are sewedat their upper edges to .a nettingextending over this portion of the wing! These strips constitute valveswhich are adapted to allow air to pass downwardly through th e wing butnot upwardly, as illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, 11 representing thecondition of the wing Awhen rising and 12 its condition when movingdownward,

The valves in lthe wings constitute the key to the problem of flying,for they allow Athe wings to move upward freely through the air whilegiving the wing a hold on the air on thel downward stroke. Moreover,these fvalves incline rearwardly so that the air passes diagonallythrough the wing on the upward stroke, as indicated by the ar- 'frows inFig. 11, Iand this helpspropel the machine forward. This upwardstroke'of the wing leaves rarefied air on its underside acting againstthe downwardly/bent front edge .of the wing, as shown by the arrows inFig. 13. `l\lear' its.rear and outer edges the wing is flexible so thatit bends downward on the upper stroke, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.13, preventing rarefaction of air at lthe rear edge which wouldcounteract the forward effect. A

O the;l downward stroke the wing not only raises thev machine butpropels it` forward by reason of the rear part of the wing bendingupward, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 13, which position of the wingshoves the air rearward and hence the machine forward. The fiexurev ofthe `outer and rear portion of the wing results from their being4 nostiff support from these edges and from the rlbs becoming thinner atsuch points.v

The approximate line of tlexure of the wing' is indicated in Figs. 2 and1 0 bythe broken line 10% i Another means for causing the forwardmovement of the machine asr it rises and falls due to thewing movement,visl the in-v clination rudder R' which is composed of metallic framebars 79, 80, 81 mounted on a horizontal bar 82 which is journaled in therearend .of the frame bars 30, this frame being Vcovered with cloth.`The front cross barV 80 of the rudder frame is arched to make the rudderat this end adapted -to aline with the roof portion Q, in front thereof.The rudder is operated by' means of sheaves 71 on the shaft 82 fromwhich run cords s to a driving pulley S rigid with which is the handlwheel S. .l This hand wheel isadapted to swing the rudder as desiredand may causeit to -act as a brake by l turning it into substantiallyvertical position.

I provide an adjustable seat T for the rider, the same being shown as asaddle mounted on a frame bar 85 leading downwardand rearward from thebar ;v At its rear end this frame bar issupported by tudinally accordingto the weightof the operator. This weight may also be Variablycounter-balanced, as air currents are engaged, by the'shifting of acounter-weight U, which is slidable on a longitudinal central frame bar89, by means of` an endless cord u which passes forward and rearwardover pulleys and downward into position where it may be easily graspedby the operator. A

'To provide simple and effective --means for steadying the machine, Imount within the hood Q, a horizontal ily-wheel V which is weighted atits periphery and is rapidly-ro'- tatedA by the en'gine. This ily-wheelacting according to the principle of a gyroscope,

- prevents the machine from unduly tippin and gives it a tendency toright itself. The

'wheel V is supported below by an archedframe bar 901, carried by thebar 27, and

above'lby one of the bars 32 Vof the hood. It is' driven by asuitable'belt opassing from the shea-ve con the-constantly drivenclutchv member. C upward across guidesheaves V and onto a sheave frigidwith the wheel V. 'The wheel is suitably incased by a fabric casing(omitted for clearness' of illustration) toprevent its disturbing theair beneath the wings.

To provide a convenlentlcushion lfor the machine to Yrest uponwhenstanding, as

well as a float to support itupo'n water, I

provide the two longitudinal air tanks W which are preferably made ofrubberor other material adapted to hold the-air.

Each of lthese tanks lies below the two longitudinal bars 38 and' 39 andsecured thereto by straps w. f

` To enable propulsion of the machine more rapidly than maybe causedbythe wings alone, aswell. as to provide for itsy forward movement whenthe wings are' held stationary and act as supporters, I have a propellerdriven bythe same engine whichI moves thewings. This propeller isomitted v` in Fig.v 3, for clearness,`but in Figs. land.

6 is shown at X on theforward end of a l shaft X mounted in the centralplane of the machine, and supported in a suitable piece abovethe bar 28and ring 21. A At its rear thls shaft carries a pulley .r on which runsa belt Y from a sheave @'on the continuously driven clutch member C. Abelt tightener Y' (operated by al hand wheel on a threaded bar) controlsthis belt andA determines whether it drives the propeller or slips idlyon its pulley. Thus thewings and propeller may operate simultaneously orindependently, as desired.

I claim:

1. 'In a' flying machine, a wing having a I comparatively stiff forwardedge, a series of parallel fabric strips secured at'their upper edgesand forming valves, said strips 'eX tending'substantiallyA to the-outeredge of the wing, said outer edge being free from rigid restraint.

2. In a flying machine, a wing having stiff bars extending from theforward inner cornerfalong vthe forward edge and along the inner edge,ribs radiating from such corner and suitable brace bars extendingtransversely to the wing `and operating to brace said corner and saidwings.

3. In a flying machine, a wing, means for hinging it along its inneredge and a series of valves in the Wing extending substan tiallyparallel with the front edge to the eX- treme outer end, the front edgeof the wing beingcomparatively stiff and the outer edge being free fromrigid restraint.

` 4;. In a flying machine, a wing,

means for L hinging it along its inner edge and a series of valves inthe wing extending substantially parallel with the front Vedge to the lAouter end, the front edge of the wing being comparatively stiff and theouter edge being free from rigid restraint, and said valves beingcomposed of fabric strips secured at.

' their upper edges.x

5. vIn a flying machine, a wing having aV bar along its front edge and'radiating ribs, .and a fabric covering, the outerand rear edges of thewing 4being free fromV rigid restraint and a series of valves formed inthe 'wing and comprising parallel fabric s'trips secured near theiredges and-extending from intermediate points in the wingto the outer ledge of the wing.

6. In a flying machine, the 'combination with la central frame of wingshinged to opposite sides thereof, each wing being slightly dish-shapedon its under side and having a series of parallel fabric strips securedat their upper edges and forming valves to allow air to pass relativelydownward `and rearward.

7. In a flying machine, the combination with a frame, of a wing hingedthereto and having ribs radiating from a point adjacentto the forwardinner corner, a bar depending from said cerner, braces leading from saidbar near its lower end to points 'adjacent to the various ribs, andmeans acting on the lower end of said bar to oscillate the wing.

8. In a flying machine, the combination witha frame,of a wing havingribs radiating from a point adjacent to the forward inner corner, a barin the wing leading rearward from said corner parallel with said frameand hinged thereto, a bar depending from said corner, braces connectingsaid depending bar with the ribs and bar first mentioned, and meansacting on said depending bar to oscillate the wing.

9. The combination ofv a frame, wings hinged thereto, a rotatable wheelcarried by the frame, a pair of pitmen connected with opposite sides ofthe wheel at their inner ends and connected at their outer ends withsaid wings.

10. The combination of a central frame, wings hinged to opposite sidesthereof, a rotatable wheel .carried by the frame, a pair of pitmenconnected with diametrically opposite points of the wheel at their innerends and connected lat their outer ends with said wings. y 11. In aflying machine, the combinatipn of a central frame, a' pair of wingshinged to the opposite upper corners thereof, bars depending from saidwings, a wheel carried by the central frame, and pitmen connected todiametrcally opposite portions of the wheel at their inner ends, and attheir out-er ends rto the bars depending from the wings.

12. In a flyingma'chine, the combinationA of a4 central frame, a pair ofwingshinged to the opposite upper corners thereof, a wheel carried'- bythe central frame, and lpitmen connected at their inner ends todiametricallyopposite portions of the wheel on o posite vfaces thereof,and at their outer en s yto members depending from the wings.

13..In aflying machine, the combination of a wing, a stationary ring, awheel mounted within the ring' with intermediate balls between them,means for rotating the wheel, and. means connecting the wheel with thewing. p

14., In a flying machine, the combination of a frame, wings hinged tothe opposite sides thereof, a stationary ring, a wheel, mounted withinthe ring with intermediate balls between them, means for rotating thewheel, and means connecting the wheel with' i 15. In a flying machine,the combination of a frame, wings hingedthereto, a ring rigidly carriedbythe frame, a rotatable wheel l within the ring., a row of ballsbetween the wheel and ring, means for driving the wheel,

and pitmenconnecting opposite lpoints on the wheel with the wings. l l e16. In a flying machine, the combination of a frame, wings hingedthereto, a ring rigidly carried by the frame, a rotatable wheel withinthe ring, a row of balls between the wheel and ring, means for'drivino'the wheel, and pitmen o n opposite faces o the wheel and connectingthesame with the wings.

17. In a flying machine, the combination with a frame, and wings carriedthereby, of

of a central frame having-skeleton Aarms exl tending diagonally upward,wings hinged at wings hinged to said arms.

the apex of such arms and ing the wings.

19. In a flying machine, the combination` of a central frame havingskeleton arms extending diagonally upward and diagonally downward,Vwings hinged at the 'apexof the upper arms, and a base a't the lfoot ofthe lower arms.

20. In a flying machine, the combination of a central frame havingskeleton arms extending diagonally upward and diagonally downward, wingshinged at the apex of lthe upper arms, means carried bythe frame fordriving the wings, and a suitablebase at the lower end ofthe lower arms.

21. In a flyingm'achine, the combination of a central frame havingskeletonarms extending diagonallyupward, wings hinged at. the apex 'ofsuch arms, meansmoiinted on means for driv the frame for driving thewingspand connections between said means and the under' sides of thewings.

22. In a flying machine, the combination of a .central frame comprisinga skeleton drum and bars 'connectedA therewith, and wings hinged to saidbars.

23. In a flying'machine, the combination of a central frame comprising askeleton drum and barsv connected therewith and forming upwardlyprojecting arms, and wings hinged to the upper ends of` said arms.

:24. In a flying machine, the combination of a frame composed of hollowtubular members securedtogetlier to make a central port-ion withprojecting arms having separated ends, a cross member between said ends,and

.25. In a flying machine, the combination of a `frame having` a centralportion with skeleton arms extending therefrom to make approximately afour point star in front elevation, Wings hinged to the upper points` ofthe star, and a base carried by the 'lower points of the star.

2G. In a flying machine, the combination of a frame having a. centralskeleton drum made of tubular members, tubular arms extending therefromto make approximately a four point stai' in front elevation, wingshinged to the upper points of the star` and a base carried by the lowerpoints of the star.

27. In a flying machine, the combinatio of a frame comprising a centralskeleton -drum and hollow bars connected therewith mechanism carried bysaid Askeleton drum,

and mechanism connecting the same .with

said wings.

28.' In a flying machine, the combination of a frame comprising acentral skeleton drum composed of vertical rings 'and horizontal bars,hollow bars connected with said rings and extending diagonally upwardand outward-to an apex, a pair of wings hinged at such apex', drivingmechanism carried by said skeleton drum, and mechanism connecting thelsame with said wings 29. In a flying machine, the combination of aframe comprising a central. skeleton drum" and hollow bars connectedtherewith and. extending diagonally upward in two arms, a pair of wingshinged to the upper points of said arms respectively, driving mechanismcarried' by said skeleton drum, said wings having members depending fromtheir .under sides, and connectingI mechanism anism enabling the drivingmechanism tov oscillate the wings. A30. A frame having tubular bars,'two of such bars being formed to meet and pass partly around thesurface of the third bar, such three parts being secured together. i

31. A frame having tubular bars, two of such bars being formed to meetand passl partly around the surface of a third bar, and a fourth barflattened and extendingbetween the two bars first mentioned.

' 32. In 'a flying machine, the combination of a centralframe-comprising a skeleton between said members and the driving mechldrum, arms secured to said drum, said arms converging toward an apex andsecured together at vsuch point, a wingvhinged to the apex of said arms,and means for operating '33. In a flying machine, the combination of acentral frame comprising a skeleton drum, arms secured to said drum onopposite sides thereof, each set of said arms converging toward -an apexand joined together at said apex, wings pivotally secured to the y saidarms at the` apex, and means for operating the wings.

In a flying machine, the combination of a central frame comprising askeleton drum,diagonal arms secured to said skele- -ton drum, memberssecured to the .outer ends of said arms atthe top and bottom, wingssecured to said arms, and means for operating the wings. A

.35. In a flying machine, .the combination of a central frame comprisinga'skeltonv d1-um, parallel members above and below said drum, barsconnecting the, said drum and last mentioned members, a curved barconnected at one end with' the drum, and diagonal bars connecting theopposite end of said bar and the lower one' of the parallel bars, saidcurifed barsupporting a Aseat for the operator.

88. In a flying machine, the combination of a frame, wings securedthereto, a bar secured to said `Wings at the inner portion thereof, aplurality of bars secured at one end to the said wings 'and arranged ina fan shape, the opposite ends ofsaid bars being connected to the.firstmentioned bar, and ineans p ivotally secured at such meeting point foroperating the wings.

39. In a fiying machine, the combination of a frame, wings securedthereto, a bar sefend to the said wings and arranged in a fan shape, theopposite ends of said bars being connected to the first mentioned bar,

a pitman pivotally secured at thc point where the said bars join, andmeans for' thereto, cach wing having a bar along its forward edge, a baralong its hinfred edge,

a bar projecting substantially rom the junction of said edges, anotherbar connecting said projected bar near its free end with the hinge barmentioned, means for bracing the last mentioned bars, a pain of pitmenconnected to the lastmentioned bars of thetwo wings, and means forsimultaneously pulling and for simultaneously pushing on the two pitmen.

41. Ina flying machine,a wing having a bar extending'along its forwardedge, a bar along its inner edge, a bardepending from the junction ofsaid edges, vanother bar depending from the inner edge and at itsfreeend joining the depending bar first mentioned and a brace bar leadingfrom the junction of the two depending bars to an intermediate positionon the wing.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

HARRY C. GAMMETER.V

lVitnesses Afimmn'r H. BATES,

nnNN.-\N li. lVEs'r.

